In news that shouldn’t surprise me, but still somehow does, anime and manga series One Piece is copping the live-action treatment at Netflix. I… I just don’t know of a human being who could embody the spirit of Monkey D. Luffy. I also do not know how to describe One Piece, apart from “pirate”, “adventure”, “over the top”, and “completely random”. There are also a lot of seasons. How many? Twenty.
[jwplayer z0khvLrA]
Netflix announced the news this morning, sharing a statement from the original creator and executive producer Eiichiro Oda.
“I know I announced the production of this back in 2017,” he said. “But these things take time! Preparations have been slowly progressing behind the scenes, and it seems that I can finally make the big announcement.”
Oda said there are going to be 10 episodes in season 1, but that’s about all we know.
“Who will be cast?!” Oda teased. “Please be patient a little longer and stay tuned.”
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: A One Piece live action is in the works! @OnePieceNetflix pic.twitter.com/gnuR5JgmXw
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) January 29, 2020
Per Variety, big time writer Steven Maeda (Lost, The X-Files, CSI: Miami, Day Break) will serve as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Matt Owens (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Luke Cage) has also signed on as writer and executive producer. Oda has been listed as an executive producer as well.
Of course, One Piece Netflix already has a verified Twitter account. Its announcement post has been translated into seven different languages. Checks out.
Netflix will team up with Tomorrow Studios for the series, which is also producing Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop. John Cho (Searching, Harold & Kumar) has been cast as bounty hunter Spike Spiegel. He’s joined by Mustafa Shakir, Danielle Pineda, and Alex Hassell. Production is currently on hold though, after Cho injured his knee during filming.
Meanwhile, animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender also has a live-action adaptation in the works at the streaming service. Everything is so under lock and key, but I feel like we’ll be hearing about it soon. It already has a title page on Netflix so surely it’s coming out sometime this year – early next year at the latest. The show’s original creators, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, are your showrunners.
It’s been a year and a bit, but I still laugh at this quote from the press release: “We can’t wait to realise Aang’s world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be, and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast.”
Good shit.
